Kelly Maureen Johnson, 65, of Pasadena, California, and formerly of Perrysburg, passed away on Friday, June 28, with her loving husband, Bob Johnson, at her bedside.
Kelly was born on September 5, 1958, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Dennis and Greta (Purcell) Barrett.
The oldest of six children, Kelly attended Saint Rose Catholic School in Perrysburg, graduated from McAuley High School in Toledo, and studied at Edgecliff College in Cincinnati.
After college, Kelly moved to Oklahoma to attend Bible school, where she met Bob, who also had also moved there (from California) to study the Bible. They married in 1981 and soon moved to Pasadena, where they lived together for 42 years.
After finishing her education, Kelly briefly worked the night shift as an office cleaner. But her intellect and ambition went far beyond a job vacuuming floors and scrubbing bathrooms. After working for a time at an insurance company, Kelly and Bob founded S.W.A.N. Financial, a successful financial advisory company that they owned and operated together in Pasadena. For decades, their hands-on advice helped clients make sound monetary decisions. Kelly’s witty monthly newsletter was a big hit with readers.
She was born with a rare congenital heart defect called Eisenmenger syndrome, which limits the amount of oxygen the body gets. This condition caused Kelly to tire easily, restricted her physical activities, and led to many medical issues.
But Kelly refused to let her health challenges keep her from living a full, rich life. As a child, she was active with the Girl Scouts, learned to play guitar and put on lively backyard plays and musicals with her friends and siblings. As an adult, she gave speeches at the Pasadena Toastmasters club; traveled to London, Ireland and Israel; read stacks of books about religion, politics and history, and rooted for her beloved Los Angeles Dodgers.
Though her family lost her too soon, she lived many years longer than most do with Eisenmenger syndrome. That was Kelly—always surpassing expectations with faith, humor, love and courage.
Most hearts are healthier than Kelly’s, but few hearts are as big.
She is survived by her husband, Bob; father, Dennis Barrett; sisters, Kerry (Dave) Devers and Colleen Barrett; brothers, Devin Barrett, Shannon Barrett and Connell Barrett, and also many nieces and nephews from both the Barrett and Johnson families.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Greta Barrett; father-in-law, Allen Johnson; mother-in-law, Joyce Johnson, and sister-in-law, Dana (Devin) Barrett Kelly’s final resting place will be with her Mother and Father at St. Rose Cemetery in Perrysburg.